Ginger Cookies with Pomegranate Molasses (AKA Anger Cookies)

I should say straight away that I am by no stretch of the imagination a baker. A baker is patient, practically OCD with the measurements, and wicked organized. I am, of course, non of the above with a delightful mix of insanely messy, too proud to admit that maybe I should have measured out that flour, and inability follow a recipe. That being said, working at a chocolate shop has really activated my once-dormant sweet tooth, so the prospect of eating dessert is actually enough motivation for me to make it! 

Today, I made ginger cookies but substituted pomegranate molasses with the regular molasses in the recipe. This was the lovely idea of a lovely man named Josh Cook, who " love[s] ginger cookies and just got far too excited at the prospect of such a treat!!!!"(the treat being pomegranate ginger cookies). So thank you, Josh! Be sure to use a sweeter pomegranate molasses for this. The bottles don't really say whether it's sweet or super sour, but you can either ask the store owner or tilt the bottle. If the contents look a bit clumpy and really dark, almost black, then it's most likely the sour kind. If the contents are very smooth and lighter, and the nutrition label says it has over 5 grams of sugar in an 8.8 oz bottle, it's the sweet stuff. I don't recommend drinking the sweet stuff. Blech.

Other adjustments I made to this recipe include:

-grinding my own spices (1 tsp whole cloves, 1 tbsp chrystallized ginger, 1 stick cinnamon) This isn't absolutely necessary but the difference between freshly ground spices as opposed to God-knows-how-long-that's-been-in-the-cupboard spices is staggering. I also grated a 1-inch piece of fresh ginger and mixed that into the wet ingredients. 

-omitted 2/3 of the sugar in the cookies. I still rolled them in sugar, but I'm not a fan of super sweet cookies, and cutting a bit of sugar out helps. These turned out, in my opinion, perfectly, faintly sweet.

-took out my anger into the creamed butter and sugar. Yes, I tried to get my little brother to be my assistant. Yes, I asserted my dominance over him by using a condescending tone of voice and throwing him out of the kitchen when he acted skeptical of pomegranate molasses in cookies. No, I did not feel good about it. I think the cookie gods punished me by making some of the cookies run together on the cookie sheet, which i just HATE. Also, my spatula may or may not have snapped in half...

So here is the recipe with my adjustments included, go wild! Remember to throw some forgiveness and humility in yours, and the cookie gods might smile on you. But who knows, they are fickle SOB's. 

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour ½ tsp whole cloves, 1 stick cinnamon, 1 tbsp chrystallized ginger, ground together 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, grated

3/4 cup butter, softened 2/3 cup white sugar 1 egg 1 tablespoon water 1/4 cup pomegranate molasses 2 tablespoons white sugar

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour, ground spices , baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
2.	In a large bowl, cream together the butter and 2/3 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the water, fresh ginger, and molasses. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture. Shape dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten slightly.
3.	Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container. Note: try not to break your spatula in half, it only fuels any possible anger you might be feeling. Yields 24 cookies.

My results: Absolutely delicious cookies, but I couldn’t really taste the pom molasses, which is rather unfortunate. Since I’m not a baker, I don’t really know if doubling the pomegranate molasses would completely ruin the cookies or not. If you really want to go for that pomegranate flavor, it’s worth a shot! They did, however, have just a hint of tangy-ness, which I enjoyed. Besides that, the cookies were crumbly, had a nice sugar crust on the outside, and tender on the inside. They’d be perfect with a cup of coffee in the morning, especially since they’re not cloyingly sweet.

What I learned today: Ginger is the queen of spices. Mmmmm.

Spicily yours,

Celina.